


Endure

by hyperbeam



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abuse, Gen, content warning: izumi curtis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 11:43:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19973500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyperbeam/pseuds/hyperbeam
Summary: If his leg was really broken, surely she would stop, wouldn’t she?





	Endure

**Author's Note:**

> Lar this is your fault, I hope you're happy

“Stand up, Edward.”

The words bit through the haze of thundering pain. His pulse hammered the inside of his skull as he fought to raise his head and push back the swarming black stars that clouded his vision. His lower right leg felt as if someone had taken a chisel to the bones. He wondered distantly if it was broken. 

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Edward. Stand up.”

Master’s voice had taken that sharp, deliberate tone that set his body on alert. Slowly, muscles trembling with strain far beyond their limit, he pulled his hands underneath him and raised his face and upper body from the dirt. Keeping his right leg as still as he could, he dragged his left knee forward to support himself. It wasn’t enough; blinding jolts of pain shot up his nerves with every little movement. 

“Edward Elric, are you listening to me? Get on your feet right now or you _will_ regret it. I’ve been very generous with you today, but my patience is wearing thin. You’re wasting my time as well as your own and your brother’s. Last chance to turn it around, right now.”

“I-I’m,” he gasped, heart pounding nauseatingly in his throat and choking his words. If his leg was really broken, surely she would stop, wouldn’t she? “Master, I’m sorry, I, I think-”

Behind Master, Al was sitting slumped on the ground with his knees folded to the sides, his eyes wide and his hand stretching out weakly, uselessly. His horrified gaze met Ed’s for a half second before Master loomed down and blocked out everything else.

Master’s hand fisted in Ed’s hair and _yanked_. His vision failed in a wrenching shock of pain as she hauled him completely off the ground. He gasped but couldn't draw air, trying to struggle but dangling limp like a puppet. She was saying something, he thought, but the roaring in his ears blocked out the meaning. 

She threw him back down and he crumpled. His right leg hit the ground and turned his bones to red-hot iron. 

When he regained consciousness, it was without memory of losing it. She was crouching in front of him still. Her hand reached towards him again, but this time she petted his head like he was a dog. 

“You understand why I’m doing this, right? Your alchemy won’t get stronger unless your mind is stronger. Strengthening the body strengthens the mind, but there’s more to it than just training and fighting. Pain isn’t a weakness, it keeps you alive, but you have to learn not to let it control you. Pull yourself together, get on your feet, and endure it. If you can do that much, lesson is over for today.”

When he stood up, he wasn’t sure he felt anything anymore.


End file.
